What to Do When Trust Becomes an Issue in Your Team

In this week’s newsletter, I want to talk about amplifying trust in your team and why this has the potential to improve your chances of achieving more together.

• Part 1: Two behaviors that can make or break a team
• Part 2: How to raise the bar on trust-building behaviors
• Part 3: What to do when trust is beyond repair

Microsoft’s Work Trend Index Report , based on a survey of 20,000 people across 11 countries, highlighted a major perception gap. While 87% of employees felt they were productive, only 12% of leaders expressed full confidence in their employees' productivity. A more?recent worldwide survey by Slack ?of over 10,000 people revealed that more than?1 in 4?‘desk workers’ do not feel trusted by their employers. This is bad and probably just the tip of the iceberg.

What we are experiencing is a major trust issue in the workplace. It’s not just about productivity; it’s about whether we can rely on each other to do the right thing, be open and truthful, and have each other’s best interests at heart.

In this week’s newsletter, I want to talk about raising the bar on trust in your team and why this has the potential to dramatically improve your team’s culture and your ability to achieve great things together.

Part 1: Two behaviors that can make or break your team

Broadly, you’ll be faced with people who display two types of behaviors at work - Trust Amplifiers and Trust Diminishers.

Trust Amplifiers

Trust Amplifiers approach trust as the invisible ingredient that turbocharges everyone’s ability to achieve goals and fulfillment at work. They consistently invest time and effort in amplifying the trust others have granted - whether it’s their teammates or their bosses.

They walk the talk by:

• Focusing on the team's mission and goals.
• Following through on their commitments aka getting the most important s**t done - on time.
• Getting better at what they do.
• Communicating openly and respectfully.
• Providing constructive feedback.
• Being receptive to receiving feedback.
• Demonstrating empathy and understanding.
• Considering their colleague’s and bosses’ needs and priorities.
• Making decisions based on what’s best for the team, not just for them.

Trust Amplifiers are the driving force behind fostering a positive and productive work environment. They actively contribute to creating a culture of open communication, mutual respect, and collaboration. Their commitment to following through on promises and valuing the contributions of others cultivates an atmosphere of reliability and support.

Trust Diminishers

Trust Diminishers take the trust others have given them and gradually erode it through a series of actions and attitudes that are counterproductive to team cohesion and effectiveness. They are not necessarily malicious or intentional in their actions, but often they end up eroding trust by doing one (or a few) of the following:

• Narrowly focusing on their own interests and agendas. Prioritizing their own needs and priorities over those of their colleagues or the team.
• Making decisions based solely on personal gain or convenience, without considering the impact on the team or the project.
• Failing to follow through on commitments.
• Remaining complacent in their roles, showing little interest in personal or professional growth.
• Communicating in a disrespectful or passive-aggressive manner.
• Avoiding to give constructive feedback to others.
• Being closed off to feedback from others, often taking it personally or dismissing it outright.
• Lacking empathy and understanding, failing to acknowledge or respond to the needs and feelings of colleagues.

The consequences of tolerating Trust Diminisher's behaviors

If you tolerate Trust Diminisher's behaviors, your team will suffer the consequences. Will Felps, a researcher in organizational behavior, conducted a notable study to explore the impact of a single toxic team member on group dynamics and performance. In his experiment, Felps introduced actors into various groups, instructing them to behave in uncooperative and disruptive ways. The study's results were striking: the presence of just one such “bad apple” led to a significant decline in the group's overall performance and morale. Team members quickly adopted the negative behaviors or became frustrated and less effective in their tasks.

Part 2: How to raise the bar on trust building in your team

Every single person on your team is capable of Trust Amplifier and Trust Dimisher behaviors. These behaviors are not a “type” or personality trait. They are a posture people adopt based on their previous experiences, current mindset, and the unwritten norms in your team.

As a leader, you play a vital role in setting the expectations around trust building in your team. You do it by how you approach amplifying trust yourself, what you acknowledge and celebrate in others and finally - what you ignore or tolerate.

The benefits are plenty if you decide to raise the bar on trust building in your team. Here are just three of them:

1. Better Collaboration: Trust fosters open communication and idea sharing, leading to more creative and effective teamwork.
2. Improved Efficiency: With trust, teams work faster and more effectively, as there's less need for supervision and double-checking.
3. Enhanced Team Morale: Trust creates a positive work environment, increasing job satisfaction and resilience among team members.

Give your team a trust framework.

Teams need a framework and common language to talk openly about trust.

A model that I find timeless when it comes to amplifying trust is the Trust Equation from the book “The Trusted Advisor” by David H. Maister, Charles H. Green, and Robert M. Galford.

The?Trust Equation?states that your trustworthiness is equal to the sum of your credibility, reliability and psychological safety you create divided by your self-orientation.

It’s useful to introduce this concept to your team members and talk about the variables that amplify trust (credibility, reliability and psychological safety) and those that diminish it (self-orientation).

What’s interesting is that while most people tend to focus on credibility and reliability when building trust at work, the most potent variables are the more emotional ones, i.e. psychological safety and self-orientation.

High self-orientation alone can quickly undo the trust built through credibility, reliability, and psychological safety.

NOTE: Very low-self orientation can lead to burnout - the goal is to find the right balance here, not to minimize it entirely. Healthy boundaries are key.

The importance of feedback and self-reflection

When working on cultivating a high-trust culture in your team, one of the most important tools you have in your toolbox is feedback. By recognizing and celebrating Trust Amplifier behaviors, you set a clear standard for excellence. However, addressing Trust Diminisher behaviors is a more delicate task.

When Trust Diminishers receive feedback, they may not see how their actions erode trust, especially without a clear framework to guide them. They might become defensive and quick to blame others for being too critical or not understanding their ‘unique’ ways. This deflection of responsibility and lack of self-awareness keeps them in a bubble of denial.

To counter this, encourage regular self-reflection within your team. Have team members assess their trust quotient in general and with specific colleagues. They can rate themselves from 1-10 on each trust element:

• "On a scale of 1-10, how credible do I appear in Sofia’s eyes?"
• "How reliable does she perceive me to be?" etc.

And even better, encourage them to seek direct feedback from their peers. This direct approach not only provides clearer insights but also fosters open communication and a deeper understanding of how they are viewed within the team. This practice can be a powerful step towards building a more trust-centric team culture, as each team member is encouraged to improve their trust score.

Part 3: What to do when trust is beyond repair

Working on amplifying trust by addressing Trust Diminisher behaviors and maximizing Trust Amplifier behaviors usually works. But sometimes, trust breaks beyond repair. Say, a team member lies or shows deep disrespect. In such cases, as a leader valuing integrity and team health, you may need to start an immediate investigation or even think about letting them go.

This tough call isn't just for big betrayals. It might come after trying hard to build trust without seeing any change. Here, chatting with your HR and possibly parting ways is a tough but necessary choice.

Trust is a two-way street and the key to a healthy team. Without it, everyone struggles - the leader, the employee, the whole crew. Make a plan using the steps above, give it time, and remember: in most cases, trust can be mended, paving the way to a happier, more effective workplace.

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